Clinton Reaffirms US Commitment to Fighting Human Trafficking

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Thursday the U.S. government is recommitting itself to ending modern slavery.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the president's anti-human trafficking task force, Clinton noted that September marks the 150th anniversary of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln's announcement of the Emancipation Proclamation.

The order, issued during the U.S. Civil War, freed thousands of black people held as slaves in the rebel southern states. Clinton said its anniversary is a good time for the country to recommit to what she described as "the promise of freedom."

"Around the world, as many as 27 million men, women and children toil in bondage," she said. "This crime undermines economies and the rule of law. It shatters families and communities. It is an affront to our most fundamental values."

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